The Paramaccan or Paramaka ( French: Pamak) are a Maroon tribe living in the forested interior of Suriname, mainly in the Paramacca resort, and the western border area of

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

. The Paramaccan signed a peace treaty in 1872 granting the tribe autonomy.

Overview

The administrative centre for the tribe is located in Snesiekondre, but the main village of the resort is Langatabiki which is also the residence of the (paramount chief) of the Paramaccan people. The tribe controls 13 villages in Suriname, and the village of Providence in neighbouring French Guiana. The total population in 2014 was estimated at 11,000 people with 4,300 people living in the tribal areas in Suriname, and 1,000 living in the interior of French Guiana.

History

The Paramaccans were runaway slaves from the Handtros or Entros plantation who fled around 1830. In 1856, the August Kappler reported that the tribe had established villages near the Paramacca Creek. In 1872, they had signed a peace treaty with the Dutch colony giving the tribe autonomy, and Frans Kwaku, the leader of the expedition to Paramaribo, was officially appointed granman by the Governor. In 1879, a group of about 90 Paramaccans led by Apensa created a settlement on an island in the

Marowijne River The Maroni or Marowijne (french: link=no, Maroni, nl, Marowijne, Sranan Tongo: ''Marwina-Liba'') is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname. Course The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist fores ...

near the mouth of the Paramacca Creek. The town was named (Long Island). During the Surinamese Interior War, the Paramaccans sided with the Jungle Commando, which resulted in a large migration to French Guiana.

Language

Paramaccan is also the eponymous term for their language, which is

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-based with influences from

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

African languages The languages of Africa are divided into several major language families: * Niger–Congo or perhaps Atlantic–Congo languages (includes Bantu and non-Bantu, and possibly Mande and others) are spoken in West, Central, Southeast and Souther ...

, and other languages. It is similar to the languages spoken by the Ndyuka and

Kwinti The Kwinti are a Maroon people, descendants of runaway African slaves, living in the forested interior of Suriname on the bank of the Coppename River, and the eponymous term for their language, which has fewer than 300 speakers. Their language i ...

, and mutually intelligible with

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (also Sranantongo "Surinamese tongue," Sranan, Surinaams, Surinamese, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a ''lingua franca'' by approximately 550,000 people in Suriname. Developed originally amo ...

. Paramaccan is the youngest of the Surinamese pidgin languages. The language had an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 speakers in 1991.

Villages

* Langatabiki (Suriname) * Lokaloka (Suriname) * Nason (Suriname) * Providence (French Guiana) * Snesiekondre (Suriname)

References

Bibliography